Children are teachers too.

Children are great teachers. They teach you to have patience and humility. They teach you that you have to think before you speak because your words can cause good or harm. They teach you that you had better take good care of yourself because it takes a lot to keep up with them. They teach you, through example, the art of being playful and spontaneous.

Yes, they are great teachers. They give you hope even on days where things in your personal life may cause you to feel blue. They open you up to the sunshine of their smiles and their hugs. They are treasures to the future!!!

It’s a gift to work with children. Enjoy!!!!

Have a great day and a wonderful week-end.

Maryln

Use a special bracelet.

There are children who twirl their hair to the point that sometimes, their hair actually falls out. These same children may have their hands all over the place touching things they are not supposed to touch. Give the child a special bracelet to wear made of soft yarn. When the child feels like doing hair twirling or touching inappropriate things, the child instead twirls the yarn bracelet. The bracelet becomes a substitute for the inappropriate behavior. Make sure the bracelet is soft so that twirling it does not harm the child’s wrist.

Have a great day. You are a difference maker.

Maryln

The tortoise won!

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. They were in a race. The hare was much quicker, while the tortoise was slower. It should have been a sure win for the hare, but the hare made a big mistake. The hare stopped. The tortoise kept going at a slow but steady pace, and in the end, the tortoise won the race. The story makes a great point, and that is, that it doesn’t matter how slowly you go, but it does matter that you never stop.

When you are working with tougher children, you may be tempted to give up. It can take a long, long time to get through to these children, but just like the tortoise that won out in the end even though the path was long and hard, so too, can you win! When you win and get through to the child, the child wins too!

Have a great day. You are a difference maker.

Maryln

Discover the treasure to be found “In-between.”

Children who are “in-between” can often get lost in the shuffle of a busy classroom. These are the children who do not stand out in any way. They are not aggressive, defiant, or disrespectful. They are not children with outward special needs. They are quieter behaved children. I was one of these children. I did not stand out in any way. I was short, and so chubby that sometimes, other children made fun of me saying, “Fatty, fatty, 2 by 4, can’t get in the kitchen door!” Everything changed for me at school when I had a very special teacher who looked at me in a different way. She changed the way I thought about myself and gave me hope that I could do better, and I did. I never forgot that teacher.

Today and every day, look for the children who are “in-between” and make them feel special. You are a difference maker.

Have a great day.

Maryln

Working with children is like learning to ride a bicycle.

Do you remember when you learned how to ride a bicycle? You may have had training wheels on your bike for extra support. When the training wheels came off, there were times you rode smoothly, and lots of times you may have fallen off the bike. Then one day, you started riding smoothly with no falls.

Learning is often the same way. There are children who need those “training wheels,” extra support to keep them propped up while learning something new. They may have times when they slip and forget what they have learned. Some of them get bruised, just like when children fall off a bike. You can’t see these bruises. They are buried inside. They are the bruises of self-doubt and loss of confidence. That’s when they need even more support. As you teach children, keep this in mind. There are some children who have a more difficult time learning than others. These children need lots of extra support.

Have a great day and a wonderful week. You are a difference maker.

Maryln